Design Principles
Chapter 13: Color
Color Theory
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Much to know
Rather Complex
Everyone can benefit from the understanding
of color
The Essentials
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Color is a property of light.
Objects have no color of their own, they just reflect a particular wavelength from the color
spectrum.
(For example a blue object absorbs all of the wavelengths, EXCECPT for blue. The
remaining wavelengths enter our eyes and this is what we see.)
Light is made of all colors
White reflects all the wave lengths of the color spectrum.
Black absorbs all the wave lengths of the color spectrum.
The spectrum of colors is created by passing white light through a prism.
Color Mixing
Additive System – Color is created
from projected light. (Computer
art, photography, interior
design…)
Subtractive System – Color is
created from pigments, (Painting,
drawing, etc…)
Color Wheel – most common
organization for color
Primary Colors:
– Red
– Blue
– Yellow
(The primary colors mix to create
white in an additive system. )
Colors of light mix according to the additive process.
Color Mixing
Complimentary Colors –
opposite on color wheel
 Red-Green,
 Blue-Orange,
 Yellow-Purple
Tip:
 Placing 2 complimentary
colors side by side creates
a brighter image.
 Mixing 2 complimentary
colors creates gray
Andy Warhol - Mao
Color Characteristics
Light and Color Perception
 Color is a product of light.
 Color changes with light.
 Colors are different during
different times of the day.
Color Constancy or
Constancy Effect
As humans we want to think of
an object as being a
particular color. However,
objects change color with
light, season, and weather.
Claude Monet. Poplars. 1891. Oil on canvas, 3’ 3
3/8” x 2’ 1 5/8” (100 x 65 cm). Philadelphia Museum
of Art. canvas, 35.9 50 cm. Museo Morandi,
Influence of Context
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“Color has a basic,
instinctive, visual appeal.”
Artist may use color mainly
as an emotional element.
Many artists use color in a
strictly intuitive way.
But artists who study color
add a lot to their art.
One of the founders of the
study of color, or color
theory, was Josef Albers.
The red-purple squares, although
seemingly different, are identical.
A brilliant, vibrant color will not show much change
despite different surroundings.
Color and its Surroundings
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Color changes with
light, and
it also changes with its
surroundings.
Rarely do we see color
by itself.
The gray sample looks different against the
two background colors
The 3 Properties of Color
Hue
Value
Intensity/Complementary
Colors
Properties of Color: Hue
Hue - The name of the color
 Example: Pink, scarlet,
maroon and crimson are all
a hue of Red.
 There are not many hues
but there are many colors.
 The same hue or color can
have many different names.
The twelve-step color wheel of Johannes Itten.
Color Wheel
The most common organization
for the relationship of the
basic colors is the color
wheel. (It comes from the
early 18th century.)
3 Secondary Colors - mixtures
of the primary colors.
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Orange
Green
Violet
6 Tertiary Colors - mixtures of
a primary and a secondary
color.
Munsell color wheel. Courtesy of Gretag Macbeth, New Windsor,
New York. The twelve-step color wheel of Johannes Itten.
Properties of Color: Value
Value - Lightness or Darkness of a hue
Tint - adding white to a hue
Shade - adding black to a hue
“Most people can distinguish at least 40 tints and shades of any color.”
“Normal” Color Value Differ
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“Not all the colors on the color wheel are shown at the same value.”
Value scales for blue, gray, and yellow with equal visual steps.
Properties of Color
Changing Color Value
 When working with
paint you can thin a
color by adding
medium.
 You can also alter the
value by mixing hues.
 Value, just like color, is
changed by its
surroundings.
The same color will appear to change in value,
depending upon the surrounding color.
Color Properties
Color Interaction
 Colors change with
their context.
 Amounts and repetition
are also critical factors.
The visual mixture of green with black and white.
Properties of Color:
Intensity/Complementary Colors
Intensity = brightness of
a color (also called
chroma or saturation.)
2 ways to lower intensity:
(or make a color duller)
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Mix with Gray
Mix with Complement
New York. Edgar Degas. After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself. c.1896. Oil on
canvas, 2’ 11” x 3’ 9 2/3” (89 x 116 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art (Purchased,
Estate of the late George D. Widener, 1980-6-1).
Intensity/Complementary Colors
To Make Brighter use:
 Simultaneous contrast –
when 2 compliments are
next to each other they
increase the visual brilliance
of each other
 Afterimage effect – when
you stare at an intense color
and then look away you will
see the complementary
color
Casanova Table and Side Chairs. Domus
Design Collection, New York.
Visual Color Mixing
Techniques that suggest light:
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Pigment just can’t reproduce the
luminous and brilliant quality of
light
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Its very hard to get a pure color
from mixing 2 colors
Visual Color Mixing Techniques:
Visual Mixing = Optical Mixing
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Attempt to create a color by
placing 2 pure colors next to each
other rather then mixing them on
a board.
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The viewer’s eye mixes them
together at a certain distance
Chuck Close. April. 1990-1991.Oil on canvas, 8’ 4” x
7’. Courtesy Pace Wildenstein, New York.
Visual Mixing in Art and TV
Styles and Techniques that use Visual Mixing
 Post-Impressionist Ear Seurat and Van Gogh used Visual
Mixing
 Pointillism – technique using small bits of color next to each
other to produce a color.
 TVs
 Mosaics
 Weavers
 Printing Presses
 We use this technique all the time. (Think Pixels!)
Cool/Warm Colors
Identifying colors with the senses
Warm Colors:
– Red,
– Orange,
– Yellow
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Warm colors advance
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Represents – Fire, Sunlight
 Implies – Happy energy
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An artist many use warm and cool
color relationships to create depth
and volume.
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It can also create a feeling of light.
Chicago History Museum. Childe Hassam. The
Breakfast Room, Winter Morning. 1911. Oil on
canvas. © Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts/The
Bridgeman Art Library.
Cool/Warm Colors
Cool Colors –
– Blue,
– Green,
– Purple
 Cool colors recedes
 Represents – Sky, Water,
Grass, Plants
 Implies – Sadness, Depression,
Night
Archibald J. Motley Jr. Getting’ Religion.
1948. Oil on canvas, 2’ 7 7/8” x 3’ 3 1/4”.
Collection Archie Motley and Valerie Gerrard
Browne, Evanston, Illinois. Chicago History
Museum.
Color as Emphasis
Color Dominance
 “Areas of emphasis in a
work of art create
interest and naturally
have been carefully
planned by the artist,
color can dominate and
provide a focal point.”
Color is so strong a visual element that it will
dominate other devices to establish emphasis.
Color as Emphasis
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Color as attention
grabber
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An odd or bright color
can be used to grab
attention, either in art,
fashion, or advertising
“Music.” P&GﾑGlide Dental Floss Campaign.
Saatchi & Saatchi, New York. Creative
Director: Tony Granger, Jan Jacobs, Leo
Premutico. Art Director: Menno Kluin.
Copywriter: Icaro Doria. Photo: Jenny van
Sommers.
Color and Balance
Achieving balance within
asymmetrical composition
 Asymmetry – based on concept
of using different objects on
either side of the center axis
 To create visual balance, the
objects must have equal
weight, interest, appeal, or
attraction
 Color is often used to do this.
Joan Miré. The Birth of the World. Montroig, summer
1925. Oil on canvas, 8’ 2 3/4” x 6’ 6 3/4” (250.8 x 200
cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York (acquired
through an anonymous fund, the Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Slifka and Armand G. Erpf funds, and by gift of the
artist, 262.1972).
Color and Space
Color’s Spatial Properties
 Color creates depth
 Intense, warm colors come
forward, cool colors go back.
Atmospheric Perspective
As things go back into the
distance dust in the air
makes them fade to bluegray.
Asher B. Durand. Kindred Spirits. 1849. Oil on
canvas, 3’ 8” x 3’. Courtesy Crystal Bridges
Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas.
Color and Space
Using color to
Emphasize Flatness
 Color can also be used
to flatten space
David Hockney. Mulholland Drive: The Road to
the Studio. 1980. Acrylic on canvas, 7’ 2” x 20’
3” (218.44 x 617.22 cm). Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (purchased with funds from the
F. Patrick Burns Bequest).
Color Schemes
Color harmonies - a harmony
or combination of particular
color based on the color
wheel. A color schemes.
Monochromatic - The use of
just one hue in an image.
(You can use black and
white to add variety though.)
Analogous - A picture that
uses several (often 3) colors
that are right next to each
other on the color wheel.
Mark Tansey. Forward Retreat. 1986. Oil on canvas, 7’ 10”
x 9’ 8” (2.4 x 2.9 m). Collection of Eli Broad Family
Foundation, Santa Monica, California. Courtesy Gagosian
Gallery, New York.
Color Schemes
5 Basic Color Schemes
1. Monochromatic – uses only
one hue plus shades and tints
2. Analogous – several hues that
sit next to each other on a color
wheel
3. Complementary – Opposite
colors on the color wheel
4. Split Compliment – Uses the 2
colors on either side of the
compliment
5. Triadic – Uses 3 hues equal
distance on the color wheel
Vincent van Gogh. The Yellow House. 1888. Oil on canvas,
72 x 91.5 cm. © Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands/The Bridgeman Art Library.
Planning Color Schemes
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The use of deliberate color
schemes is most common in
interiors, posters, and
packaging.
But, knowing these
harmonies can help both
painters and designers
consciously to plan the
visual effects they want a
finished piece to have.
Jan Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. c. 16651666. Oil on canvas, 1’ 5 1/2” x 1’ 3 3/8” (44.5 x 39
cm). Royal Cabinet of Paintings, Mauritshuis, The
Hague.
Color Discord and Vibrating Colors
Unexpected Combinations
 Color Discord – opposite of
color harmony.
 Can be disturbing.
 They do not balance each
other.
 Mild discord can be exciting
or eye-catching.
Wolf Kahn. Color/Tree Symphony. 1994. Oil on
canvas, 4’ 3 1/2” x 4’x 8 1/2”. Grace Borgenicht
Gallery, New York. Art © Estate of Wolf
Kahn/Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York.
Color Discord and Vibrating Colors
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Using Discord to add Interest
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Discord – implies immediate negative impression
The past certain color combinations were not
done, however now color coordinating is much
more free
Color Discord and Vibrating Colors
Colors in Conflict
 Certain color paring are almost
difficult to look at.
 Our eyes experience conflict
trying to look at them
 They look as though they are
vibrating
 Vibrating Colors – Colors that
create a flickering effect at their
border. This effect is usually
dependant on an equal value
relationship and strong hue
contrast
Annie Mae Young. Quilt. c. 1965. Cotton stiff material:
corduroy sheeting, polyester dress and pants material,
wool, 7ﾕ 7ﾓ 6ﾕ 9ﾓ. By permission of the artist.
Color Use
There are 3 basic ways to use color in
painting.
1.
Local Color (or Objective)painting the object the color that it
is in normal daylight.
2.
Optical Color - Depicting an
objects color as it might be seen
under various or different light.
3.
Subjective Color - Is the arbitrary
us of color, where the artist picks
colors based on design,
aesthetics, or emotional response.
(Heightened color is the use of color
that is intensified or exaggerated.)
Paul Gauguin. Allés et Venues, Martinique (Coming
and Going). 1887. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 1/2” x 3’ 1/4”
(72.5 x 92 cm). ｩ Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza
Collection on loan to the Museo ThyssenBornemisza (CTB.1979.88).
Color Use
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Arbitrary – Design reasons, aesthetics,
emotional reactions
Pure Arbitrary color is often seen in 20th
Century Painting
Heightened Color is intensification or an
exaggeration of the color artist may have
seen
Emotional Color
Emotional Color - The
use of color to create a
reaction or get a
response.
Warm colors = Warm,
happy
Cold Colors = Melancholy
and depression
Pablo Picasso. Crouching Woman. 1902. Oil
on canvas, 2’ 11” x 2’ 4” (90 x 71 cm).
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.
Emotional Color
Themes and Context
 Artist often use a color to
support enhance, and add
emotion to the subject or story
of their painting or artwork.
Leon Golub. Mercenaries IV. 1980. Acrylic on linen,
10’ x 19’ 2 1/2” (3 x 6 m). Private collection, courtesy
of the artist. Art © Estate of Leon Golub/Licensed by
VAGA, New York, New York. Courtesy Ronald
Feldman Fine Arts.
Color Symbolism
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Conceptual Qualities of Color
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Color Can represent a concept or idea like sin,
greed, cowardice, etc….
Color Symbolism
Color meaning varies between
countries and between times.
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Mourning
US-black
India-white
Turkey-Violet
Ethiopia-Brown
Burma-Yellow
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Brides
US-White
Hindu India-Yellow
China-Red
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Royalty
European & Egyptians-purple
China-Yellow
Rome-Red
Jusepe de Ribera. The Holy Family with Saints Anne
and Catherine of Alexandria. 1648. Oil on canvas, 6’
10 1/2” x 5’ 3/4” (209.6 x 154.3 cm). The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Samuel D. Lee Fund, 1934 (34.73).
Color Symbolism
Symbolic Color Today
 Color symbolism is less
recognized or important than
in the past.
 Now we can make color
mean what we want it to.
 Color Symbolism –
employing color to signify
human character traits or
concepts
 Really strong for some
things like Red, White, and
Blue for patriotism.
Lee Fund, 1934 (34.73). David Hollenbach. Client: The
American Prospect. “The Judge as Lynch Mob,”
Communication Arts Illustration Annual 43 (July 2002), p. 51.
Color VS Value: A Continuing
Debate
Do Color and value
work together or at
cross-purpose?
Color VS Value
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Artists Speak about Color
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Artist historically emphasize one or the other
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Some artists believe that values are what matter,
other like the Fauves and the Impressionists
believe that color is the essence of painting
Color VS Value
Defining New Periods
 Different Eras have put different
emphasis on the importance of
value and color
Relationship between Color and
Value
 The reproduction of an artwork
as black and white can help to
distinguish how visible it will be
for someone who is colorblind
or has poor eyesite. They will
be better able to distinguish
high value changes.
Henri Matisse. © Copyright. The Piano Lesson.
Issy-les-Moulineaux. Late summer 1916. Oil on
canvas, 8’ 1/2” x 6 11 3/4”. Mrs. Simon
Guggenheim Fund (125.1946). © Succession H.
Matisse, Paris/ARS, New York.